Frozen Flames
by Ill-tempered
Summary: The very cold and timid Hitsugaya meets the dark and fiery Kurenai. Can she melt his ice guarded heart or will he freeze her out like he's done everyone else?
1. Chapter 1

Frozen Flames

_The very cold and timid Hitsugaya meets the dark and fiery Kurenai. Can she melt his ice guarded heart or will he freeze her out like he's done everyone else?_

_**Chapter 1**_

Toshiro sighed as he finished the last of the paperwork for the day. All his memos read and all his forms filled out. He had even managed to do the schedule for patrol. He was feeling pleased with his work before he realized that Rangiku had not even came close to touching her paperwork. Sighing lightly, he decided that this time he would not go looking for her. She would just have to deal with the consequences this time. She would have to learn how to be a decent lieutenant without her captain always protecting her. Stand up from his chair; he stretched a bit as a hell butterfly fluttered through the office window. Landing on his finger, Toshiro got the message to meet for an immediate captain's meeting. Heading over to the Captain Commander's assembly room, he noticed he was the first Captain there again. It seemed like the last few meetings he was out running Soi-Fon, which was not normal. Shrugging it off, he awaited the arrival of the other captain's. It only took a few minutes for them all to arrive and get in place as the Captain Commander cleared his throat and prepared to speak.

"_We've got reports from a few scouts. There have been a few attacks in the Rukon area. It's been a few years since we had a major outbreak and I want to make sure this isn't going to be a new wave of hollows. I don't expect all of you to volunteer but I leave it up to you on how you will settle this. I want at least one division covering the area each night. You may discuss it amongst yourself. I expect reports on everything. You are dismissed." _

Certain captains like Kurotsuchi and Unohana disappeared; they were never ones to go out for fighting. They had other more important issues to deal with here in the soul society. Kuchiki left without a word, another normal response to things like this. Zaraki brushed it off as well, figuring the hollows weren't very strong anyways. Leaving only a handful of captains, none of which seemed excited by this time consuming demand. Sighing, Toshiro began to speak.

"_How about this, my division will spend the first week scouting the hollows. Seeing how strong there are and what exactly is going on. After reading the reports the other divisions can talk to their subordinates and figure out who wants to go next week and so on?"_

The other captains agreed and vanished off on their own to do whatever they were doing prior to the meeting. Honestly, he only spoke up because he wanted to get this over as soon as possible. He hated scouting missions such as this. They weren't usually any strong enemy on the other end and it was really just a waste of time. Especially since he now had to do paperwork for both the fifth and his own division. And, his lieutenant wasn't one to be helpful in doing paperwork, so now he was going to be days and days behind. Shaking his head he quickly flash stepped back to his barracks. Walking into his office and closed his eyes. Rangiku was asleep on the couch that was in the middle of his office. Slamming the door shut and waking his lieutenant from her slumber, he smirked a bit when she looked extremely pissed.

_"What did you do that for?"_

_"Because, you are asleep in my office instead of doing your job as a lieutenant and if you didn't drink all night and party with the other lieutenants, maybe you would actually be awake at two in the afternoon."_

_"But Taichou, I have to keep my social standards in order or others will think less of me!" _

_"If you did your work maybe the important people around here would think more of you. Anyways, since you won't read a shred of paper I'll tell you what's going on now. The Captain Commander has decided that each division must take a week to explore the hollow sightings in the Rukon district. We have the first week so the other divisions can figure out the order they want to go in. I'm heading out tonight by myself and then tomorrow you and a few others can go the next night and then the rest of the division can go the rest of the week."_

Not really caring what else she could say, he sat back down at his desk and began going through the rest of the fifth division paperwork. He noticed that his lieutenant's eyes were still on him but he tried to shrug it off. He really needed to finish the rest of this paperwork. Rangiku had eventually wondered out of the office, leaving him to relax a bit. Leaning back in his chair, he sighed. Tonight would be fairly great, no one around him. The clock seemed to be counting down to the time for him to quit working on these papers. At last, it was dark outside and time for him to go check out these hollow sightings. Not really thrilled by this, he flash stepped his way there but not going nearly as fast as he possibly could.

The winter season had just begun and that was probably why Toshiro wasn't as angry as he used to be. He really hated the hotter months and for some reason fall was entirely too hot for him. Snow hadn't reached the Seireitei just yet but the outer Rukon districts had experienced major snow fall. Everything was covered in the white powder and the further he went the more it seemed to be. After a while, snow was still falling in some areas. He sighed, where was the supposed hollows? Just as he was about to take off and leave he felt it. A bit of reiatsu that quickly registered as hollows and it was only a few from the reiatsu he felt. Heading off in that direction, the reiatsu was beginning to grow. Was this one powerful hollow or a bunch of small hollows? Appearing on the scene, he noticed that he wasn't the only one there now. A different reiatsu had appeared. Was it a shinigami or was it a new enemy? His green eyes searched the area as he masked his reiatsu. He wanted to wait and watch and see what exactly would happen. This was a scouting mission so why not see why the hollows were never a problem until now. There weren't many hollows this time but it was clear that they were being controlled or at least organized. They were attacking this small village type place. No kids or people seemed to be getting hurt, just buildings. That's when it happened. A girl stepped forward, sword by her side. Her reiatsu flared for a moment before her hands began to glow in an orange color. "Flames?" She began to punch out a few hollows, using flash step to get to them. "Who are you?" Toshiro whispered softly. She quickly disposed of those lower leveled hollows and the area calmed down. The people began to appear and she helped them fix the buildings that were destroyed. Toshiro turned and began heading back to the Seireitei. This might prove to be interesting week for him.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Snow fall always made the Rukon look better than it normally did. Unfortunately for the people in the Rukon, the snow meant their children or their selves would be freezing every night. Luckily for the people in the 74 division, they had someone to watch out for them. Hollows had been attacking this district continuously for the past month or two. The residents of the district hoped for something to come and save them but they knew the soul reapers would never help. They never would help unless it somehow affected them. That's when she showed up. A few of the children were cornered one night by a hollow. The hollow was about to strike a small fragile girl when all of a sudden he burst into flames. As the children looked up, a black haired girl was standing before them. Her hands covered in orange flames. She wore black pants with a black cloak over them. The kids didn't know her but were thankful that she arrived when she did. They watched in horror as more hollows appeared. Their little eyes couldn't keep on her as she flash stepped around the hollows and began attacking them all. Her flames growing brighter as she tried to make sure none reached the children. As her fist collided with the hollow's mask, they would erupt with flames. The children's eyes widen as the flames would disappear after a while. Breathing heavily, the girl finally turned to face the children. Her hands returning to normal, as she began to speak.

"_You kids should be more careful. You shouldn't be out this late. Let's get you home quickly and see if we can get you some warm blankets and some food."_

The children couldn't help but start talking about this amazing girl that saved them. Her actions spread through the district and everyone began hoping to see her again. One night, a house was attacked by a gang of hollows. Children were ripped from their family and taken away. As the mother screamed for her kids, the girl appeared. The mother quickly explained and then the girl vanished again. Several hours later the girl returned with the children.

"_Thank you so much. I'm eternally grateful. Please tell me your name dear."_

"_Kurenai Shikyo. Don't worry, I'll try and help you all if I can."_

Sighing lightly, Kurenai continued to move through the trees. Her constant watch for hollows was cutting severely into her sleep time. She was getting tired. Sleeping during the day was really the only thing she could do, but even then she couldn't sleep long. She now had to break into certain places and steal food, clothing, and blankets for the residents. For a while, she thought she was suffering from a Robin Hood syndrome. Stealing from the rich wasn't bad but she knew they were going to have what they need. In fact, some of the rich were leaving extra items out for her to steal. She wondered if they were doing it on purpose or if they were just being stupid. Either way, she was thankful they didn't involve the shinigami from the soul society. She knew that the thirteen court guard squads were extremely powerful and she honestly didn't want to deal with them. She was already pissed because they did nothing to the reports that were being done.

Stopping in an open area, she surveyed her surroundings. Absolute peace. It was strange at this point in time but with the snow still falling she figured the hollows would put off their attack until the snow storm stopped. Shrugging a bit she climbed her way to a hidden shack up on a small mountain. All night, she had this odd feeling. Someone was watching her.

Toshiro hadn't seen the mysterious girl in quite some time. In fact, it was already Thursday and there was no sign of her. Did he imagine it? Was he so exhausted that his mind really started playing illusions? Well whatever it was, there had been no other hollow sightings. However, there were a few break-ins not too long ago. He wondered if those were connected with this district. His answer came soon enough, as the kids from earlier in the week were now wearing brand new clothing apparel. This intrigued him enough to begin searching for the female. He entered the district, his reiatsu hidden but that didn't matter. The people knew exactly where he came from. A few kids hid from him while women just turned a blind eye. As Toshiro approached one man, the man began to get nervous.

"_I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of the tenth division of the thirteen court guards. We're investigating the appearance of hollows in the area. We've noticed also a few break-ins have occurred not far from here. Do you know anything about either incident?" _

"_N...No sir. We're just common folks here. We couldn't steal anything from those rich people. As for hollows, well we haven't seen any since Monday I think."_

"_Has anyone here been fighting the hollows?"_

The man shut his mouth, afraid to speak any more. The man's wife appeared by her husband's side, pulling him lightly towards the house.

"_I'm sorry Captain. I cannot help you anymore."_

Before Toshiro could even protest, the man was gone into his residency and the door shut. That's when he looked around and realized that no one was around. Did they hate shinigami this much? Then again, when he lived in the Rukon he wasn't very happy about shinigami being around either. Before leaving, he thought he might as well try and get this girl to come out if she existed. Letting only a tiny bit of his reiatsu flow out, he thought she may come thinking it was a hollow. No luck. Either they had warned her or she knew the difference. What could he do? He only had another day before another captain and division took over. If someone like Kenpachi or his men saw her, they would attack no questions asked. Actually, they went for almost any other captain he could think of.

Turning around, he decided to leave the area. No use in scaring the folks around here more. It was apparent that Toshiro would have to make a strategy just to flush this female out. But then again, if she wasn't causing a problem then maybe they could just forget about the hollow appearances. She did after all kill them on her own. Flash stepping his way back to the Seireitei, he continued thinking about what he'd put in the report and wondered if the Captain Commander would grant him another week. If not, maybe he could ask for help from another captain. But who?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Walking into the office, he noticed Rangiku was once again asleep on his couch.

Shutting the door quietly, he moved to his desk and tried to find the report he was working on last night when he got in late.

The report had everything in it except him talking to the residents of that district.

He wanted to get some advice from someone before writing more on it.

Searching the desk over, he realized that is wasn't here.

Panicking for a moment he realized that Rangiku was clutching it in her hands.

Toshiro's gut dropped a bit.

Had she read what he put in it?

Looking around, he grabbed an empty sake bottle and tried to pull the report from her hands and replace it with the bottle.

It took him ten minutes seeing how every time he'd get super close, Rangiku would stir a bit.

Getting out of the office as fast yet quiet as possible wasn't difficult since Rangiku could sleep through almost anything, including a fight right outside the door.

Looking down at the report in his hands, he re-read over it.

With every word, his memory was going back to those nights.

This assignment was beginning to be more exciting than he originally thought it would.

He had half a mind to ask the old man if he could do the investigation on his own but that may draw unwanted attention.

What if someone tried and stopped her from helping that village?

Then he would never get to see her fight again.

Wait, why did he even care?

Shaking his head lightly, he decided that he would head out there during the day.

Maybe he'd get a little more answers.

He took some food, clothing, and even a little bit of money.

This little bit of stuff could get him almost any answer he wanted.

The people that lived in the 74 district were poor and they had families they needed to care for.

Taking the items and placing them in a bag, he decided to take off not telling a soul and he also took his Captain robes off.

Wearing normal clothing he figured maybe the kids wouldn't shy away.

As Toshiro walked through the Rukon, he noticed that people didn't look at him strangely.

It was as if he belonged there.

Instantly he began to think about why the Rukon districts hated the Shinigami.

Was it really that bad? Shaking off the thought, he focused on what he had come to do.

Finding a few kids playing with a very worn down soccer ball, he watched for a moment before the ball came towards him. Picking it up, he frowned a bit.

"This thing is too old. Why not play with this one? I just found it on my way here."

Holding in his other hand was a soccer ball that was less worn out and only had a few smudges on it.

The kids' eyes widen as they thanked the new stranger.

A few adults had given Toshiro wary glances but said nothing since the kids were enjoying their new present.

That's when Toshiro decided to act upon the women in the town.

Laying down a blanket, he began placing clothing articles out.

"Excuse me; are you selling these beautiful dresses?"

"Kinda', do you like any?"

"Why of course, they are extremely beautiful. How much are they?"

"I'm looking for information mainly. If you can help me then maybe I will let you take one for free."

The woman looked like she might cry. It was obvious that the poor lady never owned something that look rich like the dresses. Toshiro felt bad for even wanting to bribe the poor thing.

"What do you need to know?"

"I hear a rumor. There is a person around here keeping you safe from hollows. I want her to teach me so I can keep my family safe as well."

"I…I shouldn't say anything but…she lives in an abandoned house on some hill. That's all I do know really."

"Thank you, go ahead and pick you one."

Leaning up against the building, he watched the woman tear herself apart trying to figure out which one she wanted.

While she continued to fret, Toshiro just looked around.

There weren't many hills so it wouldn't take him long at all to find the house he was now in search of. After a while he began just giving everything out, telling the adults to share them with friends and family.

At this point he had escaped from the town and was now heading out looking for this hill.

It didn't take long, just as he thought.

The hill wasn't really a hill like the lady had said.

It was a mountain compared to any other landscape around.

Tress covered the shack, but not well enough.

Find a place to hide among the many branches, he waited.

Night fall was upon him in a few hours and no sight of the female had occurred.

Dozing off a bit, Toshiro was woken up by the sounds of dying hollows.

His eyes turned quickly but nothing was even remotely close to him.

Looking over to his right he realized he could see the town.

It was under attack by hollows but it wasn't the female that was killing them.

Shinigami, his own lieutenant and a few from the eleventh division to be exact.

What were they doing here?

Not wasting any time, he pulled his captain robes and sword from his back and quickly flash stepped his way to the village.

Upon arriving, the hollows were vanquished and Rangiku was questioning the people but getting nowhere.

"Rangiku-chan, can we just go now? It's obvious the Captain is not here any longer."

"But this is his soccer ball that he got from the human world. He wouldn't have just left it here."

"There isn't anything else to fight so I'm leaving. You are both welcomed to stay here alone."

In a blink of an eye, the very bald Ikkaku of the eleventh division had vanished.

The purple haired Yumichika followed as well.

Rangiku just sighed and followed as well.

They were obviously looking for him but how in the world did they follow him out here?

His reiatsu.

He didn't cut it off until right before he reached the village.

Mentally slapping himself, he moved back to the place where the female lived.

He didn't even feel her reiatsu.

Most people couldn't contain it while they slept but she was.

He crept up to the shack and peered thru the windows.

It was extremely dark and there wasn't a sign that any lived in it.

Turning the knob on the door, it opened with no hesitation.

Who left their door unlocked? Pushing the door open, he realized that there was no furniture at all.

The girl obviously just slept here.

Moving thru the house, he took caution.

Making it to the very back room, he heard something stir but never saw anything.

Sticking his head thru the door, he looked down to see the female from earlier laying on a pile of sheets. She seemed cold but the blankets were stacked on top of her.

Moving back to the kitchen he began to write a small little note.

_I'm sorry to have barged in on your small little shack. I was searching for the person who protected this village. I wanted to train with you so I could protect my own village. If you do want to train me, meet me in the open field behind your shack. 2 o'clock. I will be waiting with sword by my side._

_ -Toshiro_

Leaving the note on the counter, he began heading back to the Seireitei.

Seemed he would have to explain something to his lieutenant.

Sighing to himself because lying wasn't his strong suit.

Rangiku normally could see through any of his lies except in battle.

His bluffs in battle were flawless.

Maybe he can say he was out doing patrols and the kids looked so pitiful playing with a worn down soccer ball he had no choice but give his up.

No, Rangiku would see through that.

Maybe he wouldn't even go back tonight.

Wait, it was Friday, which meant that no one would be working tomorrow.

That meant Rangiku would be partying tonight with everyone else.

He could easily go back, let her know that he was doing this patrol and then leave and she'd never notice.

Sometimes he amazed himself.

Heading back to the Seireitei he decided to head back to the tenth division headquarters.

It was more than likely going to be empty but he had a hunch that Rangiku would be waiting to hear from him.

As he predicted, sitting in his chair was his lieutenant.

"Captain! Where have you been all day? We went looking for you but we never found you."

"I was doing that patrol that the Commander asked each squad to complete each week. I'm sorry I didn't leave word, you were asleep again."

"Oh, well do you mind if I go out tonight?"

"Has it ever bothered me Rangiku?"

With that, she bounced from his chair to out the door.

That part of the night was over and he wouldn't have to deal with her until Monday.

Heading back to his private home, since he didn't like living within the quarters with all the other shinigami, he thought about what tomorrow would hold for him.

Even if she didn't come out to train him, he would confront her anyways.

He wanted to know who she was and warn her of the incoming shinigami that would be watching her. Why he wanted to warn her he wasn't sure on.

Maybe he just cared enough about those people that she protected.

It did, after all, remind him of his grandmother and Momo back when he was a little child in the Rukon. It was always hard to have good stuff then and the hollows attacked and most shinigami couldn't reach that area quick enough to minimize the damages.

Lying down in his bed, his mind was racing with things that could happen from his encounter with the mysterious female. Flashing thru his mind was her.

He found her to be amazing in just the fact she protected people she probably didn't even know.

Smiling a little, he rolled over to his side and fell asleep quickly.


End file.
